Yeagarup Dunes And Beach.

Getting to Yeagarup is by Ritter road just off Vasse Highway. Ritter road is a well maintained gravel road. The area is part of the D'Entrecasteaux National Park.

Distance from Perth: 330km

Nearest Fuel: Pemberton 24km, Northcliffe 35km

Size: The Sand Dunes cover almost 30 square kilometres

The Dunes:

This was our second visit to Yeagarup
Dunes and our first visit to the Beach!

Since last time (2009) the entrance to the sand dunes had completely
changed. In 2009 it was a winding slingshot drive up the sand, this time
however it was a straight hill/dune climb (about 50 m high on a decent angle)
and then right into it. This goes to show how much sand shifts, even day to day
previous tracks get covered by sand blown by the winds.

At the edges of the sand dunes big
trees are swallowed by the sand, it makes quite an interesting sight!

The drive along the sand dunes within the markers is not very long (only about 4 km), but access to the rest of the dunes is anywhere to the west along the marked area.

Whilst driving within the marked area treat the same as you would a street, keep left at all times and only deviate from the marked area if safe and while traveling with others.

The sand is quite soft but not too bad along the marked lane/area.

We started the day by heading straight to the beach and then return to the sand dunes as we were staying at the leaning Marri camp grounds, this allowed us to spend time on the beach while having plenty of day light to get back and enjoy the sand dunes with only a short drive to camp (3 km).

We ended up watching the sun setting over the dunes which was a pretty cool sight to see and not something you would see every day.

Doing this caused us to drive back across the sand dunes in the dark which is very dangerous, even for experienced 4wders. If you should end up in the same situation follow the tracks you made in the sand as it will be the safest way back. Spotting drop offs is hard enough in the day light, in the dark it is near impossible. I would recommend anyone doing this unless you know what you’re doing.

The Beach.

Getting to Yeagarup beach is about a 30-40 minute drive, the journey starts from the airing down and registration station ($11 per vehicle which covers all national parks for the day).

Yeagarup Airdown and Registration Area.

From the air down station it's straight to the sand dunes along the marked
lanes heading south, sand dune drive is about 5 km which then turns into bush
sand tracks winding 5 km all the way to a big sand dune descent, getting down is
easy getting back up can be a real challenge without the right psi.

Once at the bottom continue in a south direction, an obvious track, this
heads straight to the beach.

The entrance to the beach is a steep descent, again it's easy to get down but
can be a challenge going up the dune when returning.

On Yeagarup beach there are only two directions one can go, east or west!

In the west direction is endless beach, so getting a private spot on the busy
days will be so easy.

To the East is a 2-3km long beach run which leads straight to the Warren river mouth. Given the size of the Warren River it will be flowing into the ocean most of the year.

On the other side (opposite Yeagarup beach) is Warren Beach which takes leads to Callcup Hill, a whole other journey, one we will be doing next time we are in the area.

There are two ways to cross the Warren River.Crossing where it meets the ocean or being lucky to find a shallow section along the river where it cuts through the beach.

The safest option is finding a narrow and shallow section along the beach away from the ocean.

Crossing at the ocean will require timing it with the waves/swell. Stop and get out, watch the waves for a while if you surf you will know what to look for as waves are in sets. Getting this wrong and your vehicle could be a goner.

If you have no experience with waves, water/river crossings or traveling solo DO NOT ATTEMPT IT!!

Always remember crossing a river is at your own risk, there is no insurance!

Along Yeagarup beach are a few long fresh water puddles (formed by the Warren River), if lucky you will spot the odd kangaroo and other wild life drinking from them.

Only in W.A. would you commonly see kangaroos on the beach!

Crossing The River.

Click Images To Enlarge.

General Track conditions and
difficulty: Easy
to Medium (River
crossing can be Extreme)

Sand Dunes, Sand Tracks and the Beach
they are all very soft. A psi of 12 or lower is common here, especially when
returning from the beach as there are two big sand dune climbs. One is at the
beach entrance which is short but very steep. The other one is at the second
sand dune formation, a steep 300 m long climb! Expect to be revving high rpm in
3rd gear low from the bottom to the top!

Apart from that it’s dealing with soft
sand which is no problem with the correct psi. Know the tides!

There is one more thing, the Warren River
crossing! This crossing can be Easy to Extreme, don’t attempt alone and please see
the following link on river crossings.

Things to do:

4WD Explore D'Entrecasteaux National Park

4WD sand dunes

4WD Beach River crossing (when safe and not solo)

Sand boarding the Giant Dunes

Surfing

Bush Walking to Yeagarup Lake

Fishing from the beach

Best time to go:

Anytime:

Cooler than Perth in summer and winter.

Places to stay:

Leaning Marri Camp ground is
right at Yeagarup Dunes, its run by the DEC. There are no bookings so during
the busy seasons getting there early is paramount if you wish to camp there.
Any other time it’s not very busy which is fantastic!

They have toilets and park
bench-tables.

Treat it like off-road camping
as there are not bins around, whatever you bring in make sure it leaves with
you. Don’t leave a mess behind!!